KOCHI: The Cochin International Airport, which in 2024 was 15th among the top-twenty airports in terms of animal strikes in the country, plans to take up measures including ‘selective culling’ to control potential hazards.
This year alone, 32 incidents involving birds and other animals were reported at the airport.
According to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in the four years to May of 2025, the airport recorded a total of 231 bird and animal hits. Of these, 53 were posted in 2022. This increased to 90 in 2023, before dropping to 56 in 2024.
The data, released at the first meeting of the National Wildlife Hazard Management Committee (NWHMC) held recently at the DGCA headquarters in Delhi, reveals that around 2,000 bird and animal hits have been reported annually in the last two years across 20 major airports in the country.
At the meeting, held on June 26, airport officials presented innovative techniques used by other countries to reduce wildlife hazards, including robotic falcons, falconry, hunter dogs, long-range acoustic devices and also suggested integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in this field.
They also suggested “the use of lethal methods such as selective culling to control wildlife hazard within airport premises.”
On the suggestion of DGCA director general Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the committee took the decision to study the rules based for culling and to find a way forward on this matter.
The data shows that there were 1,633 bird or animal strikes in 2022 at the airports on the list. It soared to 2,269 in 2023 and dipped slightly to 2,066 in 2024. Delhi airport posted the most number of such strikes every year.
At the meeting, representatives of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change said the Animal Bird Control Rules are already in place, in accordance with the Wildlife Act, and the same can be employed to alleviate concerns of the aviation sector.